MANU/SC/0197/2005

True Court CopyTM EnglishILR-Ker

IN THE SUPREME COURT OF INDIA

Criminal Appeal No. 402 of 2005 (Arising out of SLP (Crl.) No. 4111/2000) with Criminal Appeal Nos. 904 and 1069-1070/1998

Decided On: 11.03.2005

Appellants: Iqbal Singh Marwah and Ors. Vs. Respondent: Meenakshi Marwah and Ors.

Hon'ble Judges/Coram:
R.C. Lahoti, C.J., B.N. Agrawal, H.K. Sema, G.P. Mathur and P.K. Balasubramanyan

JUDGMENT

G.P. Mathur, J.

1. Leave granted in Special Leave Petition (Crl) No. 4111 of 2000.

2. In view of conflict of opinion between two decisions of this Court each rendered by a bench of three learned Judges in Surjit Singh v. Balbir SinghMANU/SC/0416/1996 : 1996CriLJ2304 and Sachida Nand Singh v. State of Bihar MANU/SC/0077/1998 : 1998 (2) SCC 493, regarding interpretation of Section 195(1)(b)(ii) of Code of Criminal Procedure 1973 (for short 'Cr.P.C.'), this appeal has been placed before the present Bench.

3. The facts of the case may be noticed in brief. The appellant nos.1 and 2 are real brothers of Mukhtar Singh Marwah, while respondent nos.1 and 2 are his widow and son respectively. Mukhtar Singh Marwah died on 3.6.1993. The appellant no. 1 filed Probate Case No. 363 of 1993 in the Court of District Judge, Delhi, for being granted probate of the will allegedly executed by Mukhtar Singh Marwah on 20.1.1993. The petition was contested by the respondents on the ground that the will was forged. On their application the appellant no. 1 filed the original will in the Court of District Judge on 10.2.1994. Thereafter, the respondents moved an application under Section 340 Cr.P.C. requesting the Court to file a criminal complaint against appellant no. 1 as the will set up by him was forged. A reply to the said application was filed on 27.7.1994 but the application has not been disposed of so far. Thereafter, the respondents filed a criminal complaint in May 1996 in the Court of Chief Metropolitan Magistrate, New Delhi, for prosecution of the appellants and their mother Smt. Trilochan Kaur Marwah under Sections 192, 193, 463, 464, 465, 467, 469, 471, 499 and 500 IPC on the ground that the will of Mukhtar Singh Marwah set up by the appellants is a forged and fictitious document. It is stated in the complaint that though Mukhtar Singh Marwah was an educated person, but the will bears his thumb impression. He had accounts in Ban........